A Day At the Mall With Friends

"Facebook Friends" Richard and Elizabeth Mann with our family outside COEX Aquarium

Today, our plan was to meet some "facebook friends" from Canada at COEX mall.  Dana had been corresponding with Elizabeth and Richard Mann of British Columbia and they happened to be in Korea to pick up their child while we were in Korea so we decided to meet up around lunchtime and then visit the COEX Aquarium.

Children's Museum at Korea's National Museum

 After we got breakfast and started our day, we took the subway to the National Museum of Korea.  They have a children's museum attached to the main museum, so we took the kids to that.  We spent about an hour viewing the exhibits.  The kids were intrigued by a Kinect-driven exhibit about planting and harvesting.  Ben liked the outdoor playground and Cami and Ian did some coloring.

Bulgogi Burger

After our stint at the National Museum, we continued on to COEX, a large convention and shopping complex south of the Han river in the newer parts of Seoul.  COEX has the feel of a large American mall with many familiar shops.  Upon meeting Richard and Elizabeth, we decided to grab lunch before touring the aquarium.  Since we had wanted to try the McDonald's Bulgogi burger, we figured this would be a good opportunity as there was a McDonald's nearby.  Ben, Dana, and I tried the bulgogi burger while Ian and Cami stuck with the familiar Chicken McNugget & Fry Meal.  It was a good twist on the standard McDonald's burger, but I probably won't be going out of my way to find a McDonald's.

Ben took a picture of himself taking pictures

Then we visited the aquarium and saw fish from all over the world.  Ben enjoyed taking pictures of the different species of fish. Afterward, we did a bit of shopping.  We bought the next size larger Korean soccer jersey's, some underwear and socks at the Sanrio Hello Kitty store for Cami as a packing mishap left her a bit short in that department.  Then it was a quick stop for some sweet treats and Bubble Tea, a tea that the Korean students at UW-Madison rave about before heading back to our hotel where we had a bite to eat, then spent some time in the pool before heading to bed.

Sweet!

Bubble Tea